The exhaust systems of vehicles generally include a small diameter exhaust pipe section extending from an exhaust manifold to a catalytic converter of much greater diameter, with a conical transition pipe section connecting the downstream end of the small diameter pipe to the upstream end of the catalytic converter. To better distribute exhaust gases over the larger diameter catalytic converter, a diverter may be placed in the conical transition pipe section. Several different diverter designs have been proposed, but they have generally been of more than minimal cost and have not effectively distributed exhaust gasses evenly throughout the cross-section of the catalyst. A low cost diverter that evenly distributed exhaust gasses from the small diameter upstream pipe section to the much larger diameter catalytic converter, would be value.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an engine and a diverter for the exhaust conduit assembly of the engine are provided, which enables a more uniform distribution of exhaust gasses over the cross-section of the catalytic converter, using a diverter of very low cost. The diverter lies in a conical outer transition pipe section that connects the small diameter upstream pipe section to the much large diameter catalytic converter-holding pipe section. The diverter has conical diverter walls with an included angle of at least 70xc2x0, to divert considerable exhaust gasses to the peripheral portion of the catalytic converter. The diverter has a central hole to allow some of the exhaust gasses to flow to the center portion of the catalytic converter. The conical diverter walls have holes that allow considerable exhaust gasses to flow to an intermediate portion of the converter which lies between the central portion and peripheral portion.